Usually I like to put a couple days between my blog posts and Alex's. But, I bought Warhawk today, and I really want to post something about it. I just want to make note that Alex wrote a blog post earlier about World of Warcraft.
Now, on to my review of Warhawk.
I don't play very many online games. I have strong social anxieties, which include online communication, to an extent. So it makes me nervous to play with other people, and I avoid voice chat like the plague.
When the release of Warhawk came closer, I was torn. On one hand, it looked like an awesome game. On the other hand, it's online only, and I don't know if I'd like it enough. I ended up giving into the hype, and earlier this morning I bought the game via the PlayStation Store.
Unfortunately, shortly after I installed it on my PS3, I found out that the servers were down for maintenance. By the time I found out, the servers were only down for another hour or so. Thus I've had plenty of time to play the game. And once I got over my initial fear, I found myself becoming addicted to the game.
Overall, I think the game is really good. The visuals are excellent. The vehicles look great, the environment looks awesome, and the actual player characters, while having a bit of a cartoony look to them, look pretty good.
There are only five maps, currently. The developers have said that downloadable content is definitely coming. Also mentioned is that some content will be free, while others will have a fee (a small fee, I'm sure). So you can bet on the number of maps increasing in the next several months.
The controls are nice. There are options for inverting Up and Down, as well as inverting Left and Right. These options are available for your Character, Ground Vehicles, Aircraft (Hover Mode), and Aircraft (Flight Mode). You can also adjust sensitivity, and turn on the Sixaxis motion controls. It's all a matter of personal preference.
The game modes include Deathmatch, Team Deathmatch, Capture The Flag, and Zones. The first three should be familiar to anyone who has played a multiplayer shooter before. Zones is pretty interesting. The major gaming outlets can describe it better than I. But basically you have to capture command points, and expand your control over that zone. You can link zones together for faster point gain. You gain points for each zone, and how big it is. The game ends when the point total is reached.
All in all, the game is great. The sound effects are really cool, too. The explosions and planes flying around can make you a bit jumpy. But it all sounds amazing. The rest of the game comes together so well, too.
If you have a PS3, and a broadband connection, I recommend you get this game. It's a lot of fun.
Friday, August 31, 2007
Is Arthas gunna have to choke a bitch?
Yeah, I know, such profanity in a title, but, whatever, it is a contextually useful phrase. Besides, it's funny.
Those who recognize the name in the title will know I am about to wax philosophical on World of Warcraft and probably the new expansion as well. These people are quite correct. Despite the fact that I recently purchased a PS3 and despite my stance on it, the only thing I find myself constantly interested in lately is, still, WoW. (The most likely reason for this is because the summer time is always boring for video games, and the two best games for my new PS3 are called "Jack" and "Squat", respectively, with "Bupkiss" due out later this month).
I am not the first to find themselves in the throes of Azeroth addiction nor am I the first to write it up on a blog, but, I can't help myself. This game is truly amazing. Look, even the most jaded cynic would likely admit Blizzard makes great games (whether or not they particularly like them) but WoW is something else entirely. It's more like a cultural turning point. Much like how Nirvana wasn't the first grunge band, but they became a defining point in music in the 90's, World of Warcraft (or WoW to you) has become a sort of cultural focal point for the video game world. Everyone knows about it, pretty much everyone who has ever played PC game has at least played it to some degree, there have been TV Episodes about it, and also a movie in production, but these things alone don't really do enough to explain its transcendence. I mean, other games have had similiar treatment, but WoW has really ecplised so many of them. I may even go so far as to say that it is surpassed only by the Mario series in terms of notability when it comes to name recognition. The question is, does this equate to it being a good/great game?
The answer is, of course, no. Notability and greatness of product do not translate into making a great game, what makes a great game is a great game. And make no mistake, WoW is great. It plays remarkably easily yet contains a bevy of features that allows for a lot of depth and complex gameplay for an adavanced user. Basically, it is like every Blizzard game that has come before it. Which is probably why I love it so much.
And make no mistake, I love this game. Sure, I wanted to write a BioShock review today, but that didn't happen because, though I just finished and loved that game, I am more interested in talking about WoW since I picked it up again this past week after finishing BioShock (but there WILL be a BioShock review coming soon).
The weirdest thing about writing about WoW is finding something in particular to talk about. I mean, speaking about it in general is virtually impossible, it is too large a game (like most MMO's) to speak about in a general sense and have it make sense. It's just not possible. So really, I won't try to speak about the game here like that, instead, I will save posts for it for specific concepts. In one case, which will hopefully be done this weekend, I plan on live blogging my wife playing the game (this should be a comedic gold mine....or a haphazard and stupid thing, we'll soon find out).
But, best of all, I can talk about WoW and have it be fairly timely, since the announcement of it's long rumored second expansion took place earlier this month at BlizzCon. So, if I start writing WoW posts, and you, the reader, are getting annoyed, just remember to send those angry emails to Blizzard, it's their fault.
Those who recognize the name in the title will know I am about to wax philosophical on World of Warcraft and probably the new expansion as well. These people are quite correct. Despite the fact that I recently purchased a PS3 and despite my stance on it, the only thing I find myself constantly interested in lately is, still, WoW. (The most likely reason for this is because the summer time is always boring for video games, and the two best games for my new PS3 are called "Jack" and "Squat", respectively, with "Bupkiss" due out later this month).
I am not the first to find themselves in the throes of Azeroth addiction nor am I the first to write it up on a blog, but, I can't help myself. This game is truly amazing. Look, even the most jaded cynic would likely admit Blizzard makes great games (whether or not they particularly like them) but WoW is something else entirely. It's more like a cultural turning point. Much like how Nirvana wasn't the first grunge band, but they became a defining point in music in the 90's, World of Warcraft (or WoW to you) has become a sort of cultural focal point for the video game world. Everyone knows about it, pretty much everyone who has ever played PC game has at least played it to some degree, there have been TV Episodes about it, and also a movie in production, but these things alone don't really do enough to explain its transcendence. I mean, other games have had similiar treatment, but WoW has really ecplised so many of them. I may even go so far as to say that it is surpassed only by the Mario series in terms of notability when it comes to name recognition. The question is, does this equate to it being a good/great game?
The answer is, of course, no. Notability and greatness of product do not translate into making a great game, what makes a great game is a great game. And make no mistake, WoW is great. It plays remarkably easily yet contains a bevy of features that allows for a lot of depth and complex gameplay for an adavanced user. Basically, it is like every Blizzard game that has come before it. Which is probably why I love it so much.
And make no mistake, I love this game. Sure, I wanted to write a BioShock review today, but that didn't happen because, though I just finished and loved that game, I am more interested in talking about WoW since I picked it up again this past week after finishing BioShock (but there WILL be a BioShock review coming soon).
The weirdest thing about writing about WoW is finding something in particular to talk about. I mean, speaking about it in general is virtually impossible, it is too large a game (like most MMO's) to speak about in a general sense and have it make sense. It's just not possible. So really, I won't try to speak about the game here like that, instead, I will save posts for it for specific concepts. In one case, which will hopefully be done this weekend, I plan on live blogging my wife playing the game (this should be a comedic gold mine....or a haphazard and stupid thing, we'll soon find out).
But, best of all, I can talk about WoW and have it be fairly timely, since the announcement of it's long rumored second expansion took place earlier this month at BlizzCon. So, if I start writing WoW posts, and you, the reader, are getting annoyed, just remember to send those angry emails to Blizzard, it's their fault.
Friday, August 24, 2007
Folklore demo
The Folklore demo was put up on the PS Store this week, so I figured I'd give it a shot.
I've not read much about Folklore, so I went into the demo a bit blind, so to speak. But, it's pretty darn good. It's a good length demo, too. It's not cut ultra-short like the Heavenly Sword demo (despite being only a little larger).
First, the bad parts. No voice overs at all. It's all text. Also, the red text they use to highlight certain words can be difficult to see, especially against some of the backgrounds they use. And while there is some form of tutorial, it doesn't cover everything. Like the objects that appear as yellow dots on your mini-map. There is no mention of them, but I found you can destroy them to get items or health.
The good part? Well, the game plays well. The camera is a bit iffy, but otherwise it's a good game. It seems like a traditional Japanese Action-RPG, with a Pokemon twist. You start with three Folks. Once you're outside of a village area, you can use the face buttons to "summon" these folks for a single attack. They each have their own, obviously. And they each have a set of things you have to do in order to unlock their Karma, which are enhancements to their performance. It can be stronger attack, less MC energy used to summon them, or other things.
The areas aren't too large. It's basically linear, with a few branching paths that were blocked off when I found them. It doesn't sound very interesting, but it is at least worth playing.
Folklore uses the Sixaxis motion controls well, I think. When an enemy Folk is weakened, you'll see a red (or sometimes green) spirit, of sorts, above it. At that point, you hold R1, and flick the controller upward to capture the Folk. For stronger Folk, their spirit thing will be green. Then you have to hold R1, and wait until the spirit thing turns red, then flick the controller upward. You have to do that a few times before you can fully capture it. The motion control actually makes sense, and isn't tagged on as a gimmick, a technical demonstration, or a useless extra control option. It feels like an essential part of the game, as it should be.
I didn't play to the end of the demo (all the blocked paths started getting frustrating), and I only played as one character (the demo gives you the option of two characters), but I still played for at least 15 minutes, I think. But, of course, being an Action RPG, it falls prey to one of my least favorite things (which is why I refused to play Kingdom Hearts after the first twenty minutes). That being, enemies that respawn in the same locations once you re-enter an area, no matter how many times you beat them. Even the boss-like Folk respawn. That's just not fair.
Overall, it's pretty good. I'd like to see how the full version turns out.
I've not read much about Folklore, so I went into the demo a bit blind, so to speak. But, it's pretty darn good. It's a good length demo, too. It's not cut ultra-short like the Heavenly Sword demo (despite being only a little larger).
First, the bad parts. No voice overs at all. It's all text. Also, the red text they use to highlight certain words can be difficult to see, especially against some of the backgrounds they use. And while there is some form of tutorial, it doesn't cover everything. Like the objects that appear as yellow dots on your mini-map. There is no mention of them, but I found you can destroy them to get items or health.
The good part? Well, the game plays well. The camera is a bit iffy, but otherwise it's a good game. It seems like a traditional Japanese Action-RPG, with a Pokemon twist. You start with three Folks. Once you're outside of a village area, you can use the face buttons to "summon" these folks for a single attack. They each have their own, obviously. And they each have a set of things you have to do in order to unlock their Karma, which are enhancements to their performance. It can be stronger attack, less MC energy used to summon them, or other things.
The areas aren't too large. It's basically linear, with a few branching paths that were blocked off when I found them. It doesn't sound very interesting, but it is at least worth playing.
Folklore uses the Sixaxis motion controls well, I think. When an enemy Folk is weakened, you'll see a red (or sometimes green) spirit, of sorts, above it. At that point, you hold R1, and flick the controller upward to capture the Folk. For stronger Folk, their spirit thing will be green. Then you have to hold R1, and wait until the spirit thing turns red, then flick the controller upward. You have to do that a few times before you can fully capture it. The motion control actually makes sense, and isn't tagged on as a gimmick, a technical demonstration, or a useless extra control option. It feels like an essential part of the game, as it should be.
I didn't play to the end of the demo (all the blocked paths started getting frustrating), and I only played as one character (the demo gives you the option of two characters), but I still played for at least 15 minutes, I think. But, of course, being an Action RPG, it falls prey to one of my least favorite things (which is why I refused to play Kingdom Hearts after the first twenty minutes). That being, enemies that respawn in the same locations once you re-enter an area, no matter how many times you beat them. Even the boss-like Folk respawn. That's just not fair.
Overall, it's pretty good. I'd like to see how the full version turns out.
Thursday, August 16, 2007
Retro gaming
As has been said before, I own a PlayStation 3. It isn't the only system I own, but it's the only one of this generation in my possession. Still, I find myself playing games like Jet Moto 2 and Twisted Metal 2, which both came out roughly ten years ago. It isn't because the PS3 is lacking games that I enjoy. I think it's a few different factors.
Which brings me to my topic for today. Retro gaming. First, how old does a game have to be before it's "retro"? Personally, I have a difficult time calling anything from the PS/N64 era and later by that term. I usually reserve it for the SNES/Genesis era and everything before that. Of course, an argument can be made for anything two or more generations old.
My ultimate point, however, is that retro gaming seems to be a popular craze right now. A lot of companies are getting into it. On XBox Live Arcade and the PlayStation Store, you can find old 1980's arcade games. GameTap, a subscription-based game download service for the PC, has a large library of classic arcade games, along with games from the pre-NES era (2600, Intellevision, Colecovision), all Sega consoles (including Game Gear, SG-1000, Dreamcast, and Saturn, but not Sega CD, last I checked), DOS, Windows, and more. Nintendo has their Virtual Console, which includes all their consoles prior to the Game Cube, along with the TurboGrafx-16 and a few Sega consoles.
Why are these so popular? One reason could be nostalgia. Gamers who grew up with these games may be reminded of their childhood when playing these games. Maybe they are old favorites they haven't quite let go of. Or maybe they just want to see if they are still as good as they used to be.
A second reason could be that younger gamers (as in, children) want a taste of what gaming was like before they came around. They may give it a try, and they may like it, or hate it. But they want to see what older gamers, like myself, are talking about. Why we sing the praises of the classics, and complain about these young'uns who wouldn't know a good game if it bit them in the buttocks. Much like the proverbial old man yelling at kids to stay off his lawn.
One more reason, which is the reason I, personally, still play older games, is the simple fact that they are just plain fun. A lot of these classic games hearken back to the days where you didn't need 40+ hours of gameplay. Where you could understand the plot with a handful of text screens, instead of 20-minute non-interactive cinemas. Where you could pick it up, play for as long as you want, and put it down without having to worry about whether or not you saved your progress.
Sure, the games are simple, but with today's gamer so conditioned to long games and convoluted stories, if you were to release a "simple" game like Super Mario Bros. at full price, no one would buy it. The game would get horrible reviews for being "too simple" and "too short." On the plus side, there are now digital distribution methods for home consoles, where these simple games can be bought for $10 or less. Proving that a game doesn't need to be complex, in order to be fun.
This isn't to say that the modern way of making games isn't fun. A lot of games can be entertaining. They can draw people in. Make people feel. Make them cry. Make them care about the characters. Games these days can create more of an emotional and psychological attachment to gamers than the classic games could. The only problem is that these games demand more of a gamer's time, energy, and attention than ever before.
Sometimes, it's nice to play a quick game that you loved in the past, in between sessions of that new game that has you on the edge of your seat. But, classic games should not be forgotten. Just because there is something new and shiny, doesn't mean the old guard has exhausted it's potential.
Which brings me to my topic for today. Retro gaming. First, how old does a game have to be before it's "retro"? Personally, I have a difficult time calling anything from the PS/N64 era and later by that term. I usually reserve it for the SNES/Genesis era and everything before that. Of course, an argument can be made for anything two or more generations old.
My ultimate point, however, is that retro gaming seems to be a popular craze right now. A lot of companies are getting into it. On XBox Live Arcade and the PlayStation Store, you can find old 1980's arcade games. GameTap, a subscription-based game download service for the PC, has a large library of classic arcade games, along with games from the pre-NES era (2600, Intellevision, Colecovision), all Sega consoles (including Game Gear, SG-1000, Dreamcast, and Saturn, but not Sega CD, last I checked), DOS, Windows, and more. Nintendo has their Virtual Console, which includes all their consoles prior to the Game Cube, along with the TurboGrafx-16 and a few Sega consoles.
Why are these so popular? One reason could be nostalgia. Gamers who grew up with these games may be reminded of their childhood when playing these games. Maybe they are old favorites they haven't quite let go of. Or maybe they just want to see if they are still as good as they used to be.
A second reason could be that younger gamers (as in, children) want a taste of what gaming was like before they came around. They may give it a try, and they may like it, or hate it. But they want to see what older gamers, like myself, are talking about. Why we sing the praises of the classics, and complain about these young'uns who wouldn't know a good game if it bit them in the buttocks. Much like the proverbial old man yelling at kids to stay off his lawn.
One more reason, which is the reason I, personally, still play older games, is the simple fact that they are just plain fun. A lot of these classic games hearken back to the days where you didn't need 40+ hours of gameplay. Where you could understand the plot with a handful of text screens, instead of 20-minute non-interactive cinemas. Where you could pick it up, play for as long as you want, and put it down without having to worry about whether or not you saved your progress.
Sure, the games are simple, but with today's gamer so conditioned to long games and convoluted stories, if you were to release a "simple" game like Super Mario Bros. at full price, no one would buy it. The game would get horrible reviews for being "too simple" and "too short." On the plus side, there are now digital distribution methods for home consoles, where these simple games can be bought for $10 or less. Proving that a game doesn't need to be complex, in order to be fun.
This isn't to say that the modern way of making games isn't fun. A lot of games can be entertaining. They can draw people in. Make people feel. Make them cry. Make them care about the characters. Games these days can create more of an emotional and psychological attachment to gamers than the classic games could. The only problem is that these games demand more of a gamer's time, energy, and attention than ever before.
Sometimes, it's nice to play a quick game that you loved in the past, in between sessions of that new game that has you on the edge of your seat. But, classic games should not be forgotten. Just because there is something new and shiny, doesn't mean the old guard has exhausted it's potential.
Tuesday, August 14, 2007
Bioshock Demo
So, I downloaded and played the Bioshock demo the last two days.
Oh....my....God.....
Those are the first words that come to mind when talking about this demo. From it's graphics, to it's moody atmosphere, to it's surprisingly clever voicework, to it's streamlined gameplay, this game just screams "Breakthrough Hit".
I know that last paragraph made me sound like I am on IGN or Gamespot's payroll, but I can't help it, that is exactly how I feel. As my good buddy Brandon can attest to, I have been singing Bioshock's praises for quite awhile now (Brandon is a PS3 man, I am an Xbox 360 guy myself, though I do own a PS3 now, which is a story for another day), but to have the game in my hands (proverbialy speaking, it is on my hard drive) only solidifies those hopes/dreams/belief's I had for the game. Let's do this as a brief rundown of the demo.
Right off the bat, it get's odd (which is another adjective that will be used often for this game, but in a good way) where there is a brief voice over by the protaganist (who is unseen and unnamed thus far) explaining how his parents always said he would do great things, and they were right. It isn't altogether clear at first, but it seems you are on a plane, as you suddenly crash into the ocean, grasping for air, various debris floating around you, you eventually pop up to the surface and gain control of the character for the first time. The scene then becomes very remeniscent of Castaway with the burning plane wreckage, the tail of the ship sinking, and you all alone on the darkened sea (by the way, this is a real fear of mine, in that, I have an acute case of potamophobia, fear of rivers and running water, in my case, any water with living things in it). You quickly make your way to the only place you can go, this bizarre, lighthouse like structure jutting out of the water.
Normally, this is the part where one would ask themselves "Where in the hell did that come from?!" and believe me, I did. I am just not sure the "normal" will end up applying to this game. The opening narrative explicity shows that this happens "In the 1960's" and there are overt references to both America and the Soviet Union. The art design of the structures, clothing, advertisements (for the Plasmids, more on that later) and various other scenery objects scream 1950's art deco. And to top it off, there is a very real, very obvious, and very intentional "Ayn-Rand-meets-George-Orwell" feel to the dialogue and story. That's not to mention all the various science ficition elements that will come into play shortly. In that kind of cocktail, where does "normal" fit in? I am hoping, however, that there is something that will have this whole "Plane crashed, guy decides to go ahead and head down to the underwater in a bathysphere from a strange out of nowhere structure" scenario make sense, but it will be tough to do that.
The game moves quickly into the surreal from there. You enter the lighthouse, where automatic lights and the song "Beyond the Sea" start up, you walk down the corridor to the aforementioned bathysphere and begin to descend into the ocean. As you do, you get your first appearance of "Andrew Ryan" who is the founder of the undersea city you are heading to, called Rapture. In a brief movie (literally a movie projected on the front wall of the bathysphere) Ryan talks about how America, the Soviet Union, and even the "Church" all are trying to take the "sweat from your brow" and how here, in Rapture, you can keep it for yourself. I am not ashamed to admit I lapped this up like a puppy. Being a social studies student, I am unabashedly pleased to see a game take such an obvious route to political discourse and mash it into a game. Ryan's bits of socio-political babble that you hear in the early parts of the game sound like a mish mosh of Big Brother and Nietzsche. He has this kind of omnipresent presence coupled with a highly individualistic approach to moral asthestics. It's rather fascinating that this has become the main concept of the game, because it is certainly both rare and obtuse. I find it hard to believe that many will ever try to delve into the more philosophical concepts involved, and I fear that Ryan will eventually become a caricature of madness that most of the characters in games tend to be, but at the present, it is a breath of fresh air (under the water!).
Once the bathysphere arrives, you get your first taste of the survival horror atmosphere that should be easily recognizeable for any fan of the genre. You are trapped in the bathysphere as....something....tears apart a man in front of you. The best part of this is the way the lighting never allows you to fully see the thing, except for the hook that is it's arm, which it uses to kill the man. Once it attempts to break through the vehichle and can't, it leaves and you are informed via a radio in the bathysphere about what to do next, thanks to a man named Atlas (obvious choice). You leave the vehicle and can start exploring.
This is when the power of the Unreal 3 Engine truly shines. Walking around the ruined room you can immediately glimpse all the clever nuances that only HD graphics can give you. Small pockmarks in the walls, noticeable blood stains and pools, the dimmed lighting that accents the room, the placards from now gone protestors, saying they want to leave Rapture and that Rapture is dead, and of course, the window that displays the vast underwater city. I could go on and on all day describing it, and it wouldn't even begin to do it justice. It those little nuances that really bring the flavor of a game out, and the ability to actually see them is key. The suffocating atmosphere is almost palatable thanks to it.
After you walk around a bit, you watch a type of drone with automatic weapons fight off the thing that was after you and Atlas gives you a very brief description of where you are. You make your way to a type of a lobby where you are forced to quickly subdue what appears to be a crazy person who was searching a body. Upon defeating the man you can actually search his body for med-packs and other items. My guess is this is where those "RPG elements" people are talking about come into play. The ability to search bodies and other items (you can look through things like trash cans, boxes, and discarded bags) for usable items. Indeed, it gives the game (coupled with its clearly FPS style control) a feel of "Oblivion under water" at this point, even though the games aren't really all that alike.
Once you are finished there, you move upstairs and see this vending machine type thing that clearly has an item for you. It's a syringe with a red liquid in it that you immediately stab into your arm (yeah, I don't know about you, but I always stab strange syringes lying around right into my arm). You then have this electrical shock pass through you as you scream and Atlas explains that your DNA is being resequenced and it will pass. Unable to handle the stress of what is going on, you actually fall from the overlook of the stairs to the floor below. As you fade in and out of consciousness, you notice two more of these crazed people searching you for something they call "ADAM" (a substance that will come into play later) and as they are doing so you notice that they have these weird fish faces (which turn out to be masks later on). Soon, however, the hear a noise and they tell you you would be better off with them than the "Big Daddy" and they flee. That leads to your first encounter with the already iconic Little Sisters and Big Daddies (the big dude with the drill arm) where the little girl creepily talks about light from your belly and how you'll soon be an angel. They leave, as you are not dead yet, and you regain control.
Here is where the wrinkle in the game play comes in, as you now have use of "Plasmids", basically, magic. You use the left bumper and left trigger to cycle through them and use them, respectively. While the right bumber and right trigger are used to cycle through and use your weapons, respectively. This leads to a kind of dual-wielding with them, whereby you use the left trigger to hit a Plasmid and the right to shoot your weapon. The first Plasmid you get is a kind of electrical shock that allows you to stun enemies to hit them easier with your wrench (the only weapon you have at first). They also show in a video at the end of the demo using things like ice, to freeze your enemies in place, and telekenisis to move objects to do things. Very interesting.
From here, Atlas asks you to go find his family, and as you do, you watch as a Little Sister, harvesting "ADAM" from a dead body, is attacked by one of the "Splicers" (the crazy guys). This leads to a sequence whereby the Big Daddy kicks the crap out of the guy and saves the girl. Clearly this is a combo not to be trifled with. You end up getting another Plasmid, this fire ability to burn your enemies, and setting off a trigger alarm which forces you to fight off a bunch of Splicers at once with a tommy gun (which is as cool as it sounds). They also show off some of those "interactive environment" concepts they have been talking about, like allowing you to hack into the flying drones to control them, or choosing to shut down the alarm before triggering it (by hacking it) or shooting your electricity Plasmid into the water that the Splicers are standing in, and shocking both of them at the same time.
You eventually get trapped in a room next to where Atlas's family is, and you apparently hear them get killed as Ryan appears in all his Big Brotherness on a screen in front of you, asking you who sent you, the KGB or CIA (I am guessing about the CIA, I couldn't make it out fully over the screens) and saying that Ryan is not another oligarch to be pushed around, as splicers start to breakdown the plexiglass shielding you from them.
Thus the demo ends.....
It would be remiss of me to not mention this strange hallucination you have at one point when you enter a bathroom, where you apparently shift into some sort of haze and see weird spirits or something. I am guessing this is going to play into something from story perspective, but I don't know what else to say about it at the moment, so I will skip any speculation at this point.
Really, the only thing I can think about is what I said at the beginning. Oh my God. This game is utterly fantastic already. I am worried about how much of a replayability it will have, given it's nature, and I am concerned that it will eventually devolve into your typical "creepy shooter" faire by making Ryan a caricature and not adding enough variety to the game play methods, but, you know what, it may not matter. Games this finely crafted just don't come out everyday and you would be doing yourself a disservice to not check it out on the Xbox 360 or PC.
Oh....my....God.....
Those are the first words that come to mind when talking about this demo. From it's graphics, to it's moody atmosphere, to it's surprisingly clever voicework, to it's streamlined gameplay, this game just screams "Breakthrough Hit".
I know that last paragraph made me sound like I am on IGN or Gamespot's payroll, but I can't help it, that is exactly how I feel. As my good buddy Brandon can attest to, I have been singing Bioshock's praises for quite awhile now (Brandon is a PS3 man, I am an Xbox 360 guy myself, though I do own a PS3 now, which is a story for another day), but to have the game in my hands (proverbialy speaking, it is on my hard drive) only solidifies those hopes/dreams/belief's I had for the game. Let's do this as a brief rundown of the demo.
Right off the bat, it get's odd (which is another adjective that will be used often for this game, but in a good way) where there is a brief voice over by the protaganist (who is unseen and unnamed thus far) explaining how his parents always said he would do great things, and they were right. It isn't altogether clear at first, but it seems you are on a plane, as you suddenly crash into the ocean, grasping for air, various debris floating around you, you eventually pop up to the surface and gain control of the character for the first time. The scene then becomes very remeniscent of Castaway with the burning plane wreckage, the tail of the ship sinking, and you all alone on the darkened sea (by the way, this is a real fear of mine, in that, I have an acute case of potamophobia, fear of rivers and running water, in my case, any water with living things in it). You quickly make your way to the only place you can go, this bizarre, lighthouse like structure jutting out of the water.
Normally, this is the part where one would ask themselves "Where in the hell did that come from?!" and believe me, I did. I am just not sure the "normal" will end up applying to this game. The opening narrative explicity shows that this happens "In the 1960's" and there are overt references to both America and the Soviet Union. The art design of the structures, clothing, advertisements (for the Plasmids, more on that later) and various other scenery objects scream 1950's art deco. And to top it off, there is a very real, very obvious, and very intentional "Ayn-Rand-meets-George-Orwell" feel to the dialogue and story. That's not to mention all the various science ficition elements that will come into play shortly. In that kind of cocktail, where does "normal" fit in? I am hoping, however, that there is something that will have this whole "Plane crashed, guy decides to go ahead and head down to the underwater in a bathysphere from a strange out of nowhere structure" scenario make sense, but it will be tough to do that.
The game moves quickly into the surreal from there. You enter the lighthouse, where automatic lights and the song "Beyond the Sea" start up, you walk down the corridor to the aforementioned bathysphere and begin to descend into the ocean. As you do, you get your first appearance of "Andrew Ryan" who is the founder of the undersea city you are heading to, called Rapture. In a brief movie (literally a movie projected on the front wall of the bathysphere) Ryan talks about how America, the Soviet Union, and even the "Church" all are trying to take the "sweat from your brow" and how here, in Rapture, you can keep it for yourself. I am not ashamed to admit I lapped this up like a puppy. Being a social studies student, I am unabashedly pleased to see a game take such an obvious route to political discourse and mash it into a game. Ryan's bits of socio-political babble that you hear in the early parts of the game sound like a mish mosh of Big Brother and Nietzsche. He has this kind of omnipresent presence coupled with a highly individualistic approach to moral asthestics. It's rather fascinating that this has become the main concept of the game, because it is certainly both rare and obtuse. I find it hard to believe that many will ever try to delve into the more philosophical concepts involved, and I fear that Ryan will eventually become a caricature of madness that most of the characters in games tend to be, but at the present, it is a breath of fresh air (under the water!).
Once the bathysphere arrives, you get your first taste of the survival horror atmosphere that should be easily recognizeable for any fan of the genre. You are trapped in the bathysphere as....something....tears apart a man in front of you. The best part of this is the way the lighting never allows you to fully see the thing, except for the hook that is it's arm, which it uses to kill the man. Once it attempts to break through the vehichle and can't, it leaves and you are informed via a radio in the bathysphere about what to do next, thanks to a man named Atlas (obvious choice). You leave the vehicle and can start exploring.
This is when the power of the Unreal 3 Engine truly shines. Walking around the ruined room you can immediately glimpse all the clever nuances that only HD graphics can give you. Small pockmarks in the walls, noticeable blood stains and pools, the dimmed lighting that accents the room, the placards from now gone protestors, saying they want to leave Rapture and that Rapture is dead, and of course, the window that displays the vast underwater city. I could go on and on all day describing it, and it wouldn't even begin to do it justice. It those little nuances that really bring the flavor of a game out, and the ability to actually see them is key. The suffocating atmosphere is almost palatable thanks to it.
After you walk around a bit, you watch a type of drone with automatic weapons fight off the thing that was after you and Atlas gives you a very brief description of where you are. You make your way to a type of a lobby where you are forced to quickly subdue what appears to be a crazy person who was searching a body. Upon defeating the man you can actually search his body for med-packs and other items. My guess is this is where those "RPG elements" people are talking about come into play. The ability to search bodies and other items (you can look through things like trash cans, boxes, and discarded bags) for usable items. Indeed, it gives the game (coupled with its clearly FPS style control) a feel of "Oblivion under water" at this point, even though the games aren't really all that alike.
Once you are finished there, you move upstairs and see this vending machine type thing that clearly has an item for you. It's a syringe with a red liquid in it that you immediately stab into your arm (yeah, I don't know about you, but I always stab strange syringes lying around right into my arm). You then have this electrical shock pass through you as you scream and Atlas explains that your DNA is being resequenced and it will pass. Unable to handle the stress of what is going on, you actually fall from the overlook of the stairs to the floor below. As you fade in and out of consciousness, you notice two more of these crazed people searching you for something they call "ADAM" (a substance that will come into play later) and as they are doing so you notice that they have these weird fish faces (which turn out to be masks later on). Soon, however, the hear a noise and they tell you you would be better off with them than the "Big Daddy" and they flee. That leads to your first encounter with the already iconic Little Sisters and Big Daddies (the big dude with the drill arm) where the little girl creepily talks about light from your belly and how you'll soon be an angel. They leave, as you are not dead yet, and you regain control.
Here is where the wrinkle in the game play comes in, as you now have use of "Plasmids", basically, magic. You use the left bumper and left trigger to cycle through them and use them, respectively. While the right bumber and right trigger are used to cycle through and use your weapons, respectively. This leads to a kind of dual-wielding with them, whereby you use the left trigger to hit a Plasmid and the right to shoot your weapon. The first Plasmid you get is a kind of electrical shock that allows you to stun enemies to hit them easier with your wrench (the only weapon you have at first). They also show in a video at the end of the demo using things like ice, to freeze your enemies in place, and telekenisis to move objects to do things. Very interesting.
From here, Atlas asks you to go find his family, and as you do, you watch as a Little Sister, harvesting "ADAM" from a dead body, is attacked by one of the "Splicers" (the crazy guys). This leads to a sequence whereby the Big Daddy kicks the crap out of the guy and saves the girl. Clearly this is a combo not to be trifled with. You end up getting another Plasmid, this fire ability to burn your enemies, and setting off a trigger alarm which forces you to fight off a bunch of Splicers at once with a tommy gun (which is as cool as it sounds). They also show off some of those "interactive environment" concepts they have been talking about, like allowing you to hack into the flying drones to control them, or choosing to shut down the alarm before triggering it (by hacking it) or shooting your electricity Plasmid into the water that the Splicers are standing in, and shocking both of them at the same time.
You eventually get trapped in a room next to where Atlas's family is, and you apparently hear them get killed as Ryan appears in all his Big Brotherness on a screen in front of you, asking you who sent you, the KGB or CIA (I am guessing about the CIA, I couldn't make it out fully over the screens) and saying that Ryan is not another oligarch to be pushed around, as splicers start to breakdown the plexiglass shielding you from them.
Thus the demo ends.....
It would be remiss of me to not mention this strange hallucination you have at one point when you enter a bathroom, where you apparently shift into some sort of haze and see weird spirits or something. I am guessing this is going to play into something from story perspective, but I don't know what else to say about it at the moment, so I will skip any speculation at this point.
Really, the only thing I can think about is what I said at the beginning. Oh my God. This game is utterly fantastic already. I am worried about how much of a replayability it will have, given it's nature, and I am concerned that it will eventually devolve into your typical "creepy shooter" faire by making Ryan a caricature and not adding enough variety to the game play methods, but, you know what, it may not matter. Games this finely crafted just don't come out everyday and you would be doing yourself a disservice to not check it out on the Xbox 360 or PC.
Saturday, August 4, 2007
GRAW2 PS3 demo
This past week, the PlayStation Store got a demo of Tom Clancy's Ghost Recon Advanced Warfighter 2. I downloaded it and gave it a shot. I have to say, it's pretty darn good.
I know PC and XBox 360 gamers have had this game for a few months now. And soon, PS3 gamers will get a shot at it.
As far as shooters go, while there are some run-and-gun style games I enjoy, such as Unreal Tournament 2004, I do enjoy a slower, more tactical pace to my shooters. I like the Rainbow Six series, and Splinter Cell is a lot of fun. I also like the Metal Gear Solid series, for the same reasons. A slow, methodical pace that makes you think more than shoot blindly.
The start of the GRAW2 demo was a lot like that. I'm sure many of you reading have played this game, or at the very least, a game like this. Starting the demo as a single soldier, with nothing else but a Cypher drone for aerial recon, is quite interesting. Having to locate your enemies and attempt to engage them without being overwhelmed makes for a fun start to the game.
I find a lot of this stuff a bit nerve-wracking. The slow, creeping movement, trying to stay hidden, can be a bit intense. But that's all part of the experience. After the first area is cleared out, I got access to the MULE. Which I found to be little help, really.
I still have yet to figure out how to heal myself, or my allies, once I get far enough. And getting through the area immediately after you get your group together is giving me a lot of trouble. I know that there's probably something I'm not understanding, or that I'm not figuring out. But, overall, the demo is a lot of fun.
If you haven't yet, I say go check out Ghost Recon Advanced Warfighter 2 on your respective platforms. At least rent it. Or get a demo or something. I can't say the game is perfect, but I enjoyed the demo.
I know PC and XBox 360 gamers have had this game for a few months now. And soon, PS3 gamers will get a shot at it.
As far as shooters go, while there are some run-and-gun style games I enjoy, such as Unreal Tournament 2004, I do enjoy a slower, more tactical pace to my shooters. I like the Rainbow Six series, and Splinter Cell is a lot of fun. I also like the Metal Gear Solid series, for the same reasons. A slow, methodical pace that makes you think more than shoot blindly.
The start of the GRAW2 demo was a lot like that. I'm sure many of you reading have played this game, or at the very least, a game like this. Starting the demo as a single soldier, with nothing else but a Cypher drone for aerial recon, is quite interesting. Having to locate your enemies and attempt to engage them without being overwhelmed makes for a fun start to the game.
I find a lot of this stuff a bit nerve-wracking. The slow, creeping movement, trying to stay hidden, can be a bit intense. But that's all part of the experience. After the first area is cleared out, I got access to the MULE. Which I found to be little help, really.
I still have yet to figure out how to heal myself, or my allies, once I get far enough. And getting through the area immediately after you get your group together is giving me a lot of trouble. I know that there's probably something I'm not understanding, or that I'm not figuring out. But, overall, the demo is a lot of fun.
If you haven't yet, I say go check out Ghost Recon Advanced Warfighter 2 on your respective platforms. At least rent it. Or get a demo or something. I can't say the game is perfect, but I enjoyed the demo.
Wednesday, August 1, 2007
August in Gaming History
AUGUST
(Unknown Date) --
1989 – Nintendo releases the Game Boy in North America. Tetris is packed in with the system.
1st --
1992 – Nintendo releases Mario Paint for the SNES. The game includes a mouse controller and a plastic mouse pad. The game itself is a multi-activity game, including various styles of art and music, and even a couple mini-games.
1992 – Kirby's Dream Land is released on the Game Boy.
1993 – Super Mario All-Stars released on the SNES.
9th --
2006 – Dead Rising is released for the Xbox 360.
13th --
1991 – Nintendo releases the Super Nintendo Entertainment System in North America. Super Mario World is packed in with the system at launch. Other launch games included F-Zero, Pilotwings, SimCity, and Gradius III.
14th --
2003 – 3DO sells off its various video game assets.
15th --
1986 – Metroid is released for the NES.
2000 – Chrono Cross is released on the PlayStation
17th --
1999 – Legacy of Kain: Soul Reaver released on PlayStation and PC.
18th --
1982 – Atari announces that they got the exclusive rights to a game based on the movie E.T.
22nd --
1995 – Chrono Trigger is released on the SNES.
2005 – Nintendogs is released on the Nintendo DS.
23rd --
1993 – Nintendo and Silicon Graphics announce Project Reality. This project, which uses a 64-bit processor, would eventually become the Nintendo 64.
25th --
1983 – Bally Manufacturing agrees to buy the American coin-op assets of Sega Enterprises.
1997 – GoldenEye 007 is released on the Nintendo 64.
26th --
2002 – Super Mario Sunshine is released on the Game Cube.
27th --
1997 – Sony releases the Dual Analog controller for the PlayStation.
2002 – Sony releases the Network Adapter for the PlayStation 2.
2003 – Soul Calibur II released on PlayStation 2, Game Cube, and Xbox. Each version has its own unique character. The PS2 version has Heihachi (from Tekken). The Game Cube version has Link (from Legend of Zelda). The Xbox version has Spawn (from the series of comic books and movies).
(Unknown Date) --
1989 – Nintendo releases the Game Boy in North America. Tetris is packed in with the system.
1st --
1992 – Nintendo releases Mario Paint for the SNES. The game includes a mouse controller and a plastic mouse pad. The game itself is a multi-activity game, including various styles of art and music, and even a couple mini-games.
1992 – Kirby's Dream Land is released on the Game Boy.
1993 – Super Mario All-Stars released on the SNES.
9th --
2006 – Dead Rising is released for the Xbox 360.
13th --
1991 – Nintendo releases the Super Nintendo Entertainment System in North America. Super Mario World is packed in with the system at launch. Other launch games included F-Zero, Pilotwings, SimCity, and Gradius III.
14th --
2003 – 3DO sells off its various video game assets.
15th --
1986 – Metroid is released for the NES.
2000 – Chrono Cross is released on the PlayStation
17th --
1999 – Legacy of Kain: Soul Reaver released on PlayStation and PC.
18th --
1982 – Atari announces that they got the exclusive rights to a game based on the movie E.T.
22nd --
1995 – Chrono Trigger is released on the SNES.
2005 – Nintendogs is released on the Nintendo DS.
23rd --
1993 – Nintendo and Silicon Graphics announce Project Reality. This project, which uses a 64-bit processor, would eventually become the Nintendo 64.
25th --
1983 – Bally Manufacturing agrees to buy the American coin-op assets of Sega Enterprises.
1997 – GoldenEye 007 is released on the Nintendo 64.
26th --
2002 – Super Mario Sunshine is released on the Game Cube.
27th --
1997 – Sony releases the Dual Analog controller for the PlayStation.
2002 – Sony releases the Network Adapter for the PlayStation 2.
2003 – Soul Calibur II released on PlayStation 2, Game Cube, and Xbox. Each version has its own unique character. The PS2 version has Heihachi (from Tekken). The Game Cube version has Link (from Legend of Zelda). The Xbox version has Spawn (from the series of comic books and movies).
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